stephen maloney Posted December 3, 2012 Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 Many thanks in advance to anyone who might be able and willing to shed any light on this small internal stamp, about the size of a dime, visible through the left f-hole on a violin I just received. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richf Posted December 3, 2012 Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 I see two Xmas trees, upside down. Jacob will correct me I'm sure, but I recall reading that the Xmas tree was a stamp authorized for use by master makers in Mittenwald, circa 18th century. I have looked for it in older violins but never found one. I believe the single tree is still used at the Mittenwald school. Hope that helps a little. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fiddlecollector Posted December 3, 2012 Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 Curious Richard, i see a bird ? landing on water My eyes must be playing up today! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vathek Posted December 3, 2012 Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 I see a Chinese or Japanese kanji seal Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stephen maloney Posted December 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 Thanks for the replies thus far - a bit like a rorschach test, this one. I'll post pics of the violin itself when I get a moment. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vathek Posted December 3, 2012 Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 these would not be found in violins, but as an example: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
arglebargle Posted December 3, 2012 Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 Many thanks in advance to anyone who might be able and willing to shed any light on this small internal stamp, about the size of a dime, visible through the left f-hole on a violin I just received. I've seen that before. Tis a bird on a musical staff with the letters S A G above it. I actually posted a picture here a few years ago, it was a much clearer brand on my violin. No one knew then what it meant. Sigfried Geipel? I'll see if I can find the picture of mine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stephen maloney Posted December 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 Very interesting! I look forward to that, AB. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richf Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 I was never very good at Rorshach tests. The more I look, the more I agree with everyone. Guess I better study some more. Richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stephen maloney Posted December 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 Ok, maybe these will help a little bit. The quality is s***ty but the camera is an old one with not much pixel resolution. I tried to increase the contrast a little on the stamp, it does look like a little bird there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stephen maloney Posted December 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 Arglebargle, I think I found the thread in question. http://www.maestrone...is-ring-a-bell/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
arglebargle Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 Arglebargle, I think I found the thread in question. http://www.maestrone...is-ring-a-bell/ Yup, thats it. If memory serves, it was some sort of German something or other, if that helps. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stephen maloney Posted December 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 SAG - perhaps the 'G' being 'geigenbaumeister' (?) Yet I don't see some of the items on the checklist from Jacob's infamous quiz for Addie, however. The gentleman who gave me the instrument was convinced it was 19th c. Italian. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Addie Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 All violins are presumed Italian until proven otherwise. Herr Docktor Professor S.’s test is for a certain generation of instruments. Temporal, as well as spatial, if you follow me. Yours looks more 1930’s-ish? Addie = not sure how to say “if it walks like a duck” in German. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jacobsaunders Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 Sollte es wie eine Ente laufen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stephen maloney Posted December 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 And yet Jacob Saunders, Die Geigenbaumeister, Restaurator, und forensischen Experten, who by his own reckoning knows all there is to know about Germanic violins and is himself a defacto German sympathiser (he's Austrian, and that's close enough historically) does not readily recognise this fiddle or its brand. I'm going to drop a bombshell over Dresden - could this be a Francesco Guadagnini? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin swan Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 http://www.bromptons.co/auction/catalogue/5th-march-2012/176-an-exceptionally-fine-italian-violin-by-francesco-guadagnini-turin-1937.html it's worth noting the fine pins in the blocks, inked scroll, square corners, lack of f-hole fluting, rather plain matt soft varnish .... Hang on a sec ........ yup, Dresden is still standing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stephen maloney Posted December 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 Close enough? Haha. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jacobsaunders Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 And yet Jacob Saunders, Die Geigenbaumeister, Restaurator, und forensischen Experten, who by his own reckoning knows all there is to know about Germanic violins and is himself a defacto German sympathiser (he's Austrian, and that's close enough historically) does not readily recognise this fiddle or its brand. Sorry Steve, I’m totaly disorientated since we have to take Stakhanovite-Martians into consideration too Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stephen maloney Posted December 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 Jacob, you must be confusing this saga with Chris's extra-terrestrial take on Stradivari. It turns out this violin may not be 1930s Germanic at all, rather English, 19th c. Meaning, Jacob, from the nation of your birth, the land which you abandoned, betrayed. I have found a Deconet label underneath the top, by the way. Details to follow. Had no idea Deconet performed in England, what a talent. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stephen maloney Posted December 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Arglebeagle, et al, I am getting closer to solving the riddle of my violin ID thanks to a very helpful gentleman at an auction house. Details to follow. Note to Addie - it's not German nor 1930s. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TedN Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Arglebeagle, et al, I am getting closer to solving the riddle of my violin ID thanks to a very helpful gentleman at an auction house. Details to follow. Note to Addie - it's not German nor 1930s. Inquiring minds want to know. Just curious, how is the tone? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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